Int'l Convention Qualifications?

by Jourles 15 Replies latest jw friends

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  Jourles

  This "young man" is the son of an MS and as far as I can tell, none of the elders in the hall have anything against him. His sister misses more meetings than he does in fact. This bro works the literature counter, sound, etc. There should be no reason for him to be denied from going.

  And yes, there are International District Conventions held around the world, including here in the United States. I know for a fact that about 3-4 years ago in Texas, Houston was one of the designated cities. Our hall had the "honor" of housing some of the delegates from South America. And I believe this year, Houston is hosting once again. The delegates arrive via bus at the Rosenburg Assembly Hall where they are picked up by the families that house them.

  As Gumby brought out, anyone can attend these assemblies. But it is frowned upon by the Society for ones to just up and go. As long as the Society disapproves, the sheep will meekly follow along and obey.

  If I was the father in this family, I would take my son with me regardless. Beats leaving him at home so he can fornicate with the neighbor girl.
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  LittleToe

  It's usually the Service Committee (PO, SO, Sec), then it's sent to the Branch for approval.

  My wife and I were candidates at the 1999 Kenya International, as well as attending several in the UK (I was Sec, so I already had my own vote ).

  Somehow my wife managed to get approval as a candidate for one of the US Internationals, for this year. It must be because she's a long time Pioneer, as somehow having an "apostate" husband wasn't held against her.

  How else did ya think I managed to wangle a solo vacation to the States, this Spring???
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  Prisca

  If I was the father in this family, I would take my son with me regardless.

  In that scenario, you wouldn't be able to go on the WTS-arranged tour, you would have to make your own arrangements.

  See, when you go on a tour arranged by the Society, they will not send you any info if you haven't been approved by your congregational elders. And the travel arrangements will only be made for those who are approved. This includes air travel, visas, accomodation, tours etc.

  If you're not approved, you have to make your own arrangements, and this is frowned on by the Society. They want people they consider to be the "best" to represent their countries. That way, it perpetuates the idea that the Society is made up of wonderful, loving individuals who all think and act in unity.
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  Alligator Wisdom

  My former (entire) congregation was invited to the International Convention held in San Diego, California, USA in 1998. Actually, most of the congregations in my former circuit were invited. I guess it was because they wanted a "significant" turnout, plus the fact that it was held only two hours away down interstate 5 (my former congregation was in Los Angeles).

  I'm assuming that you are referring to International Conventions that are held abroad from the country in which the publisher was living in. Then, in that case, as Little Toe mentioned, the individual publisher would have to turn in an application to the Service Committee in his/her congregation, which would then be accompanied by a letter of approval from the elders and mailed to the International Convention Committee for the final determination.

  Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother "NOT" Exerting Vigorously")
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  Room 215

  Of course, anyone in the area can simply walk into an inernational convention held in his/her town; what the Society controls is access to WTBTS-arranged tours, including charter flights and hotels, etc. It's just another high-control tactic, aimed at manipulating the p.r. impact of such events, by weeding out those they deem to be ``undesirables," ``border-line worldly" or ``poor example'' .... It's another, typical form of WT duplicity in that they seek to create an idealized picture of spiritual health by selecting their ``creme de la creme" of ``goody-two-shoes" delegates. They're clearly uncomfortable with showing a true cross-section of Developed-Country Dubs, to their guileless brothers and sisters in the hinterlands/
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  Ed

  My former employer, who was an elder, went to an international convention in New York (from Australia) a few years ago. He was more excited about getting a free tour of NY than anything else. He spent the next two years trying to impress everyone he met by casually mentioning that he had "just got back from the U.S...."